from Hacker News

TikTok May Be More Dangerous Than It Looks

by DogOfTheGaps on 5/9/22, 3:24 AM with 1 comments

• by jerojero on 5/9/22, 3:47 AM

  One thing that sort of bothers me about this discourse is that, for one, there is no real evidence that the Chinese government is using Tiktok as a weapon to cause dissent through US population. All of it is based on fears that, because it is China, they might do it.

  On the other hand, companies like Facebook have and continue to do so all across the world! Not only that, but Facebook itself has been weaponised against americans! This is a problem, but to me, the reality is that companies with this kind of reach are in no way better off in the hands of privates.

  I know this is an opinion piece but passages like "... we know that China has been amplifying Russian propaganda worldwide." without any links whatsoever to a source are extremely inflammatory and, honestly, quite ridiculous when Fox News itself has been spreading Russian propaganda to Americans as well!

  I'm not trying to make a whataboutism argument here, TikTok is a problem, but it is not a problem because the chinese are behind it; it is a problem because its reach is massive just like any other big tech out there. I really dislike when journalists try to spin this issue as if it's a new-found issue because the chinese are behind it. I assure you, to the chinese, Facebook, Youtube and the rest are also seen as a threat. It is the nature of the game.

  Also, personally, I've not encountered a single pro-russian video on tiktok (probably because the algorithm feeds me things I resonate with) but I have encountered a plethora of them on instagram and youtube. Maybe I should write an article for the NYT as well?

  Tbh, this article is just pointing out something people have been talking for years. Tiktok is a threat because the chinese government could manipulate its algorithm to spread propaganda... I'll leave you with this final piece from the author:

  "Imagine a world in which the United States has a contested presidential election, as it did in 2020 (to say nothing of 2000). If one candidate was friendlier to Chinese interests, might the Chinese Communist Party insist that ByteDance give a nudge to content favoring that candidate?"

  Literally what happened in 2016 with an American company (no mention in the article whatsoever that this same scenario has already happened with an american owned, american controlled company).